CHAPTER XXI.
RAIDING.
At a fierce gallop the troop of Cossacks bore down upon the littlemountain town--firing at a detachment of Austrian soldiers who venturedforth to give them battle--without checking their speed. This band ofCossacks, reconnoitering well ahead of the main advance guard, wasprobably 1,000 strong; the Austrians opposing them much less. With therapidly advancing Russians were Hal, Chester and Alexis.
The advance of the Czar's troops to the Carpathians had been withoutincident. Whenever troops of the enemy had opposed them they had beenput to flight without difficulty. The cavalry, dashing rapidly ahead,had outdistanced their cavalry and artillery support, and the entireforce of mounted men--60,000 of them--were in the midst of the wildmountains.
Harassed from front and, now that they had advanced well into themountains, also from the sides and rear, the Cossacks neverthelesspushed on. From behind rocks and trees, isolated bands of Austriansfired upon them, doing great execution, disappearing in the hills whenthe Cossacks turned upon them.
The reconnoitering force to which the lads were attached dashed downupon the little mountain town, the sun gleaming on their lances andrevolver barrels. In vain did the Austrian officers urge their men tostand firm. After one volley at the approaching horsemen, they broke andfled, scattering in all directions. The very name, Cossack, spreadterror.
Right into the middle of the little village dashed the troop. Now fromevery window came a hail of lead, and the Cossacks, apparently trapped,turned this way and that, not knowing which way to go. Struck by a riflebullet, the officer in command threw up his hands and toppled from hishorse. Quickly Alexis sprang to the head of the men, Hal and Chesterbeside him.
"Dismount!" cried Alexis.
The cavalrymen threw themselves from their horses, and at a secondcommand, rushed directly upon the houses. With heavy kicks they smashedin the doors and rushed upon the occupants within. They soon put an endto these snipers.
But now, around one side of the town appeared a troop of Austrian horse.
Hal raised a cry of warning, and quickly the Cossacks turned and leapedupon their own horses; but the Austrian cavalry had no mind to givebattle to their foes, and after pouring in a volley, turned and fleddown the narrow mountain pass.
"After them!" cried Alexis.
He put spurs to his horse and dashed ahead, his men following closely.
The Austrians had not gone far when their leader called a halt andconsulted with his subordinate officer. They were, the leader knew, notfar from a point where he could expect reenforcements.
A plan was quickly formed. The Austrians divided into two parts. Theforemost blocked the road--down which the Cossacks were rapidlyapproaching--near a turn, so as to remain unseen by the approachingenemy until almost the moment of contact. The second force stayed somerods behind the first, forming in two lines, one along each side of theroad. Some were armed with lances and sabers, but many also carriedrifles.
As for the Cossacks, all carried lances and revolvers.
The Russians went forward at a gallop. Alexis was expecting to overtakethe enemy, but he was hardly prepared for the suddenness of theencounter.
Ere he could give an order, there came one loud, flaming, whistlingdischarge from that living barrier drawn up across the road. Alexis'horse reared, as did others of the troop. Some of the men came to aquick stop, others were borne forward by the impetus of their formerspeed, but reined in for orders. No man fell, though one groaned and twohurled epithets at the foe.
Alexis, now that he had his horse under control, drew his sword with hisright hand, his pistol with his left, which also held the rein, andordered his men to charge, to fire at the moment of contact, then tocut, slash and club.
The first line of Austrians, as soon as they had fired, retreatedbetween the two lines of supports, stopping at some further distance toreform. The second line, being thus cleared of the first, poured a hailof bullets into the Cossacks as the latter were caught between them.
Many fell, but the others turned on the second barrier with furiousforce, some, however, rushing upon the reforming first line.
They were the best riders in the world, and many a one of them held hislance aloft in one hand, his revolver raised in the other, the reinloose on his horse's neck.
The Austrians and Alexis' foremost men fired at the same moment. TheAustrians had not time to turn and flee, for the Cossacks, unchecked bythis second greeting of fire, came on at headlong speed.
"At 'em, boys!" cried Hal excitedly, firing his revolver at a tallAustrian officer, who fell sidewise from his horse.
An Austrian officer struck with a sword at Chester's left arm, but onlyknocked the pistol from his hand. The lad found himself threatened onthe right by a trooper, and slashed at him with his sword. The blow wenthome, but the sword's end became entangled with the victim's breastknot. A second trooper brought his rifle butt down heavily upon thesword, and it snapped off.
Chester felt a keen smart in his left leg. It came from a second swordblow aimed by the Austrian officer, who might have followed it with athird, but that he was now attacked elsewhere. Chester had no soonerclapped his hand to his wounded leg than he was stunned by a blow fromthe rifle butt of the trooper who had previously struck the sword. Hefell forward on his horse's neck, which he grasped madly with both arms.
Still holding the broken sword in his right hand, Chester now lapsedfrom a sense of the tumult, the plunging and shrieking horses, the whirand clash of swords, the thuds of rifle blows, into half consciousness,while the unguided horse turned suddenly and made off in the directionfrom which he had come.
Meanwhile the Cossacks had been pushing the Austrians back. Hal andAlexis, fighting side by side, were so far unharmed. Right into themidst of the enemy they plunged, and for several minutes could seenothing but flying swords and lances. Then, at a signal, the Austriansturned and fled.
Hal turned to speak to Chester, but the latter was not there. In alarm,he called Alexis' attention to the fact that Chester was missing.Quickly Alexis ordered a halt and looked around. Bodies strewed theroad, and leaping from their horses, the two investigated. Chester wasnot there.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Hal. "What can have happened to him?"
Alexis questioned his men. One remembered that a great black charger haddashed through the troop in the midst of the battle and had fled to therear. He remembered that a form was upon the animal's back.
"It must have been Chester," said Hal to Alexis. "Do you go on inpursuit of the Austrians, and I will go back and see if I can find him."
"Good," said Alexis. "The horse probably will run back to the maincolumn. You should not have much trouble finding him."
With a word of command Alexis ordered the troop ahead, and Hal startedback on the trail of his chum.
When Chester was again aware of things he was still clasping the horse'sneck and was being borne along he knew not whither. His head ached andhis left leg pained him greatly. He was dizzy and too weak to raisehimself from his position. He could not hear any sound of fighting. Hetried to sit up and look around, but this added to his pain, so he fellforward on the neck of his horse again.
Suddenly the horse stopped.
Once more Chester tried to sit up. This time he was successful, and inspite of the pain glanced about him. The horse had halted near a littlehouse, set back some fifty feet from the road, and even as he looked upa woman came from the doorway. She started in astonishment at the sightof the horse and its wounded rider, and hastened back into the house.She reappeared in a moment, however, accompanied by a second woman, thelatter armed with a huge revolver.
The two now approached the lad and lifted him from the horse. Theysupported him as he dragged himself into the house, and dropped weaklyinto a chair. Then the women stepped back and pointed the revolver athim.
"You shall remain here," she said, "until I can turn you over to theAustrians."
Chester was somewhat surprised. By the assistan
ce given him by thewomen, he had thought that, after resting up, he would be allowed torejoin his friends; but the set expression on the woman's face told thelad that she meant what she said.
The second woman approached with water and bandages and soon bound uphis wounds. Then the lad was escorted to another room, which looked outupon the road. The woman mounted guard over him with her revolver.
"Some of our troops will be here before long," she told him. "Until thenI shall guard you."
All this time Chester retained his hold on the broken sword. Suddenly,down the road, came the sound of a galloping horse. Chester glancedthrough the window and in a moment he had made out the figure of Hal.Quickly he stepped to the window, and before his captor could preventhim, shattered the window pane with his broken sword.
"Hal!" he cried at the top of his voice. "Hal! Here I am, wounded and aprisoner!"
The woman hurled herself upon the lad and bore him back out of sight. Inhis weakened condition he was no match for her. She thrust him back intothe chair. He turned his eyes to the window. Hal had passed on.
"Great Scott!" ejaculated Chester. "He didn't hear me!"
But Hal had heard. He recognized the sound of his friend's voice, andrealized that he was in trouble of some kind. Likewise he surmised whatthe trouble was, for he knew that they were in the heart of a hostilecountry. Therefore, he did not check the speed of his horse at once, butrode some distance further before drawing rein. Then he dismounted andtied his horse to a sapling.
Springing in among the trees, he advanced cautiously toward the house.Both women, secure in the belief that he had passed on, turned to tauntChester. The latter shut his lips grimly and refused to make a reply.
Suddenly, from the next room, came a tremendous clattering of pots andpans.
Both women jumped to their feet.
"There is someone out there!" cried one of the women excitedly.
With her revolver pointed straight before her she moved softly towardthe door. At the same moment Chester realized Hal's ruse and cried:
"Look out, Hal!"